About Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Horowitz (Bostoner-Jerusalem)

Levi Yitzchak HeLevi Horowitz The 2nd Bostoner Rebbe (born 3 July 1921, Boston, Massachusetts, died 5 December 2009, Jerusalem) was a rabbi and the second rebbe of the Boston Hasidic dynasty founded by his father, Rabbi Pinchos Dovid Horowitz. He was the first American-born Hasidic rebbe and a champion of Orthodox Jewish outreach, reaching out to many students in the Boston area through his New England Chassidic Center.

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Horowitz (1921 - 2009)

Beloved Bostoner Rebbe

On Shabbos Parshas Vayishlach, 18 Kislev, December 5, 2009, the Gates of Heaven opened to greet the holy soul of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Horowitz, zt"l, greatly beloved Bostoner Rebbe, who passed away surrounded by his family and chassidim at the Shaarei Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem. Hearing the sad news, tens-of-thousands joined the final farewell on Motzaei Shabbos at the Bostoner Beis Medrash in the Har Nof neighborhood of Yerushalayim.

Rabbi Shmuel Shmelka of Jerusalem was the son-in-law of Rabbi Elazar Menachem Mendel Biderman, zt"l (1827‑1883), Lelover Rebbe who emigrated to Jerusalem with his father in 1850; son of Rabbi Moshe Biderman, zt"l (1777‑1850), Lelover Rebbe who immigrated to Jerusalem in 1850 with his son and passed away 72 days after his arrival. In that short time he established the first Chassidishe dynastical court in the Holy Land. He was buried on Har HaZeisim (Mount of Olives) alongside the prophet Zechariah. Rabbi Moshe was the son of Rabbi Dovid'l Biderman, zt"l (1746‑1813), founding Lelover Rebbe.

Rabbi Elazar Menachem Mendel was the son-in-law of Rabbi Zvi Horowitz, zt"l (d. 1831), Lubliner Rebbe; son of Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Horowitz, zt"l (1745-1815), reverently known as the Chozeh (Seer), and Rabbi Moshe was the son-in-law of Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Rabinowitz, zt"l (1766-1813), known as the Yid HaKodesh (The Holy Jew).

Rebbetzin Sarah Sasha was the daughter of Rabbi Yechiel Mechel Brandwein, zt"l (1871-1939), Turka-Stretiner Rebbe and author of Ohr Tzaddikim. The Turka‑Stretiner Rebbe was the son of Rabbi Aaron Brandwein, zt"l (1842‑1906), Felshtiner Rebbe who was a disciple of Rabbi Yisroel Friedman, zt"l (1796‑1850), Rizhiner Rebbe. Rabbi Aaron immigrated with his father, Rabbi Zvi Aryeh Brandwein, zt"l (d. 1883), Felshtiner Rebbe, to Palestine. He lived and died in Tzefas. He was the son of Rabbi Yosef Dovid Landau, zt"l (d. 1849), Aliker Rebbe, son of Rabbi Zvi Aryeh Landau, zt"l (1759-1811), founding Aliker Rebbe and author of Ohr Chachamim.

He was given the name Levi Yitzchak since his mother's name was Sarah Sasha, thus his full matriarchal name was the same as that of Rabbi Levi Yitzchok (ben Sarah Sasha) Derbaremdiker, zt"l (1740-1810), revered Berditchever Rebbe and author of Kedushas Levi. Many prayers, such as for help in finding lost objects or for protection, are beseeched in the merit of Levi Yitzchok ben Sarah Sasha (the Kedushas Levi).

In the beginning of the 1900s, Rabbi Pinchas Dovid Horowitz had married and was leading a pious life in the holy city of Jerusalem. His uncle, Rabbi Dovid Zvi Shlomo Biderman, zt"l (1844‑1918), Lelover Rebbe and Chassidicleader of Jerusalem, was concerned that the multitude of Jews that who were immigrating to America at that time were without religious leadership. Rabbi Dovid Zvi Shlomo encouraged his nephew, Rabbi Pinchas Dovid, to join the Jews in America and be their religious guide. Rabbi Pinchas Dovid demurred.

Shortly thereafter, a feud developed within the leadership of Kollel Galicia, the organizational body that help fund the otherwise destitute religious yishuv (community) in Jerusalem. Rabbi Pinchas Dovid was dispatched to Europe to help heal wounds that had developed because of the feud. WWI erupted while Rabbi Pinchas Dovid was en route home. He was captured, detained, and conscripted into the Greek Army. He was sent to military service in Salonika. There, Rabbi Yaakov Meir, zt"l (1857-1939), then Chief Rabbi of Salonika and later Rishon LeZion and Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Palestine, interceded and enabled his military discharge. With war raging, Rabbi Pinchas Dovid was only able to travel to America.

First appointed as Rav of Beis Medrash Rayim Ahuvim in Brownsville, Brooklyn, the largest Chassidishe shulin New York City at the time, his reputation as a Torah leader grew. In addition to his Chassidishe qualities, he was also a Torah scholar of note. The then Jewish community of Boston was populated with Lithuanian Jews who thirsted for Torah scholarship.

Hearing about Rabbi Pinchas Dovid, an offer was extended. In 1915, Rabbi Pinchas Dovid established his beis medrash and Chassidishe court on Poplar Street in the West End neighborhood of Boston. Though he was a scion of several Chassidishe dynasties, he declined to identify himself with any of their lofty names. He called himself Bostoner Rebbe, for, he often said, what could be expected of a Rebbe from Boston? Why, he felt, must his holy grandfathers also be dragged into Boston?

With the international tumult of WWI finally over, his Rebbetzin and son arrived in Boston in 1919. His work included the establishment of a yeshiva in Boston, but his success was initially short-lived. He established mikvaos and various chesed organizations. In 1929, Rabbi Pinchas Dovid returned to Palestine. However, because of the pogrom in Chevron and the general Arab unrest, he was urged to return to America by his extended family.

In 1934 Rabbi Pinchas Dovid sent his Rebbetzin and family to Palestine in preparation of the Bar Mitzvah celebration of their son, Levi Yitzchak. The Bar Mitzvah celebration came about exactly as planned; however, Rabbi Pinchas Dovid was delayed in arriving and missed it.

The young Levi Yitzchak was heretofore confined to the Horowitz home because his parents feared the outside foreign American cultural atmosphere and only had private tutors for all their children. In Jerusalem the newly "bar-mitzvahed" Levi Yitzchak was enrolled in Yeshiva Torah Veyirah and flourished. In 1935, satisfied with his son's progress, Rabbi Pinchas Dovid returned to Boston.

After two years of intensive yeshiva study in the Holy Land, the young Levi Yitzchak returned to America and entered Yeshiva Torah Vodaath, where he came under the influence of Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendelowitz, zt"l (1886-1948), and Rabbi Shlomo Heiman, zt"l (1892-1945), both of whom represented the leadership of YTV and were pillars of Torah leadership of America. Levi Yitzchak ultimately earned his Semichah from an admiring Rabbi Heiman.

In 1939, foreseeing the unfolding of a blossoming Torah community in New York City, Rabbi Pinchas Dovid moved his beis medrash to the Lower East Side. Keenly understanding demographics, he quickly established the first Chassidishe beis medrash in Williamsburg with a mikveh. Literally, he paved the way for the Chassidishe giants of Torah that followed him. When Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, zt"l (1886-1979), Satmar Rebbe, settled in Williamsburg, it was the Bostoner mikveh that gave him strength and fortitude to rebuild his once glorious following.

In 1941 Rabbi Pinchas Dovid, founding Bostoner Rebbe passed away. He was succeeded by his older son, Rabbi Moshe Horowitz, zt"l (1913-1985), who later moved the beis medrash to Crown Heights and ultimately to Boro Park. Rabbi Moshe, upon his passing, was succeeded by his sons: Rabbi Chaim Avrohom Horowitz of Boro Park and Ramat Beit Shemesh, and Rabbi Pinchas Dovid Horowitz, present Bostoner Rebbe of Flatbush.

In 1943 Rabbi Levi Yitzchak married Rebbetzin Raichel, a"h (1918-2002), daughter of Rabbi Naftali Ungar, Hy"d (d. 1942), Neimarker Rebbe, who had become the stepdaughter of Rabbi Meir Leifer, zt"l (1881-1941), Clevelander Rebbe. She was a full partner in her husband's holy work and stood by him until her very last day. Afterwards he married Rebbetzin Yehudis, who was wholly dedicated to her husband.

That same year, 1943, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was one of the 400-plus rabbis who traveled to Washington, DC just before Yom Kippur, to plead with President Roosevelt to rescue Jews from Hitler, yemach shemo. In 1945, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak accepted the invitation of the remnant Chassidishe community of Boston to reestablish his father's beis medrash and glory. Concentrating his efforts on the Jewish student population of the various universities of Boston, his efforts took effect.

He was born in Boston and, though his secular contacts were limited when he was growing up, he nevertheless understood the prevailing milieu and addressed it with a New England accent. Groups would visit and attend his lectures. Often, members of the visiting groups would bring along their tape recorders. When the Bostoner Rebbe heard a click from such a device, he would stop and announce a pause so that the individual would be able to turn the cassette upside down so that the opposite side could be recorded. This was pleasantly surprising, because the typical university professor would ordinarily haughtily ignore such intrusions.

The Bostoner Rebbe seemed to be a magnet in drawing followers from all segments. He would gauge an individual's wavelength and speak on that level. The Bostoner Rebbe literally would talk about baseball batting averages and which team was likely to win the World Series. He could just as easily, and just as fluently, speak about nuclear physics with atomic engineers or experimental surgery with heart specialists.

Nevertheless, his presence as a preeminent Chassidishe Rebbe was always felt. He spoke about Torah, Halacha, and Chassidishe stories of old, all with the authority of an elder Torah statesman. In 1992, he graced the 50th anniversary dinner of the Igud Horabbonim encouraging congregational rabbis to aggressively continue and expand their teaching visions and Torah horizons.

He was a prominent and respected member of the Moetzes Gedolei Torah of Israel. In the months preceding the expulsion of the Gush Katif communities of Gaza, the Bostoner Rebbe campaigned to have the evil decree revoked while at the same time giving community members solace.

Living in Boston, he utilized the respect of his position to help Jewish patients at Massachusetts General Hospital and other top hospitals in the area. Patients in need of special medical care from around the world gravitated to Boston. He founded Rofeh, an organization that provided medical advice and referrals, which helped many Jews reach top physicians. The Rebbe would make every effort to arrange for all their needs, from kosher food to lodgings, transportation, and translation services, often having the patients picked up at the airport and brought directly to the hospital destination. The Rebbe would also accommodate the patient's family members with all their needs.

In 1984 the Rebbe made a decision to create a chassidic community in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem. The Bostoner Rebbe, in effect, created Har Nof. In 1995, he moved to Israel. In 1999 an additional community was established in Beitar, more attractively priced and thus geared for the next generation of Bostoner Chassidim.

At the funeral, the Bostoner minhag of not having any hespedim (eulogies) was scrupulously observed. The aron was escorted by tens-of-thousands to his eternal place of rest on Har HaZeisim.

The sons of the late Bostoner Rebbe will be succeeding their venerated father: Rabbi Pinchas Dovid Horowitz, Chuster Rov, will serve as Bostoner Rebbe in New York; Rabbi Mayer Alter Horowitz will serve as Bostoner Rebbe in Har Nof; and Rabbi Naftali Horowitz will serve as Bostoner Rebbe in Boston/Brookline, Mass. The Rebbe is also survived by his Rebbetzin, Yehudis and his daughters: Rebbetzin Shayna, married to Rabbi Yosef Frankel, Vyelopoler Rebbe; and Rebbetzin Toby, married to Rabbi Moshe Chaim Geldzahler, Bostoner Dayan of Har Nof. The Rebbe is also survived by many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who follow the pathway he forged.

We have lost the first American born Chassidishe Rebbe. However, he was much more than that. The late Bostoner Rebbe was a dynamic personality, much respected and much loved. He will be sorely missed. Our remembering him is a blessing.

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In 1943, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Horowitz was one of the four hundred-plus rabbis led by Rabbi Baruch Korff who traveled to Washington, D.C. just before Yom Kippur, to plead with President Franklin D. Roosevelt to rescue Jews from Hitler.

In 1944, upon becoming the first American-born chasidic rebbe, he announced that his primary thrust as rebbe would be aimed at the area's large number of college students, many of whom were away from home and in a perfect position to partake of all that he felt the New England Chassidic Center could offer them.

Many tried to dissuade him, saying that chasidus and college did not and could not mix, but the Rebbe persevered and was personally responsible for returning many hundreds of students at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology to their Jewish roots.

In 1984, the Rebbe made a decision to create a Chassidic community in Har Nof, Jerusalem, Israel. In 1999, an additional community was established in Beitar, for the next generation of Bostoner Chassidim.

The Rebbe served as a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel of Israel.

The Rebbe suffered a cardiac arrest on July 6, 2009, and hospitalized in the Sharei Tzedek hospital in Jerusalem. He died at the Sharei Tzedek Medical Center, on Saturday, December 5, 2009 (Shabbat Vayishlach). He was buried the same night on the Mount of Olives.

Reb Levi Yitzchak was born to his parents, Grand Rabbi Pinchos Dovid Horowitz, the first Bostoner Rebbe, and Rebbitzen Sora Sosha Horowitz, a descendant of the Baal Shem Tov, in Boston on July 3, 1921, corresponding to the Jewish date 27 Sivan 5681.

His father, founder of the Boston Hasidic dynasty, died in November 1941. In 1942, shortly after his father's death, he married Rachel Unger Leifer of Cleveland, Ohio, a descendant of Reb Naftoli Ropshitzer.

The Rebbe relocated to Har Nof, Jerusalem, in March 2008 together with his second wife, Yehudis, whom he married in 2005.

It was always a vision and ambition of the rebbe to establish a community in Eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel, the Jewish biblical homeland. After several false, and at times, expensive starts, the Rebbe was finally able to arrange in the early 1980s for the development of an American-style community in the Har Nof section of Jerusalem. Under R' Levi Yitzchak's personal leadership it has become a vibrant chasidic center. New immigrants, students, visitors and world-famous rabbis have all visited Reb Levi Yitzchak in Har Nof, to seek his counsel and to join him for Shabbos, Yom Tov or other special occasions.

In 1998 the Rebbe appointed his eldest grandson, Rabbi Moshe Shimon Horowitz, to establish and lead a new community in Beitar Illit, near Jerusalem, to serve the needs of his younger followers who were seeking more affordable housing. That congregation is today home to a full-time Talmudic study academy.

The Rebbe serves as a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel of Israel.

Reaching Out Furnishing Emergency Healthcare (ROFEH)

One of the prominent achievements of R' Levi Yitzchak is Project ROFEH. ROFEH (which also means "physician" in Hebrew) is an organization dedicated to providing Medical Referral and Support Services to those in need of help. ROFEH was established in 1952 following a request from the Chazon Ish to assist an Israeli patient who needed treatment for a heart problem. Boston is home to some of the world's finest medical facilities that are sought out by people throughout the world. ROFEH assists the sick and their families with referrals to expert physicians, hospitality and a furnished apartment if a hospital stay is required. More than the physical though, ROFEH provides a shoulder to lean on for people in time of need. ROFEH is skillfully managed by the Rebbe's youngest son Rabbi Naftali Yehuda Horowitz.

The Rebbe's eldest son, the Chuster Rov, Rabbi Pinchos Dovid Horowitz, lives in Brooklyn, New York where he runs the medical and social services network Nachas Healthnet.

The Rebbe's second son, Reb Mayer, serves the congregation in Har Nof ably assisted by his grandson, Shalom.

His youngest son, Rabbi Naftali Yehuda Horowitz, manages the New England Chassidic Center, the Beit Pinchas congregation in Brookline, Mass. and ROFEH, a Medical Referral and Support Service.

One son-in-law, Rabbi Yosef Frankel, lives in America and is the Rov of K'hal Bnei Shlomo Zalman located in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, New York. Rabbi Frankel, also known as the Vielopoler Rov, is a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of the USA.

Another son-in-law, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Geldzahler, heads a congregation in Har Nof, where he is a senior judge of the Rabbinical Court.

The Rebbe's eldest grandson, Rabbi Moshe Shimon Horowitz, eldest son of the Chuster Rov, lives in Beitar Illit where he is the Rav of the Boston Chassidic Community and a communal figure.

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The Horowitz Family:

According to the Baal Shem Tov, "There are three famous Jewish families that are pure, generation after generation: Horowitz, Margoliot and Shapiro".